Melrose High volleyball aces West Roxbury in D2 North Quarterfinals

Monday

Nov 6, 2017 at 9:59 PMNov 11, 2017 at 11:02 PM

Christopher Hurley churley@wickedlocal.com HurleySportsWL

Lydia Lombardo got her points across against West Roxbury.

The senior quad-captain potted a team-high 19 service points, as the second-ranked Melrose High volleyball team defeated seventh-seeded West Roxbury, 3-0, in the Division 2 North Quarterfinals, Nov. 6.

With the win, Melrose (21-2) moves on and will host sixth-seeded Arlington Catholic in the Division 2 North Semifinals Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 6 p.m.

“It feels good,” said Melrose Coach Scott Celli. “Our regular season really helped us in matches like this. We play really well here at home. We’re tough on this floor, so it’s good to be home. We’re playing here Wednesday night against AC, so hopefully being here helps. We will see.”

Fresh off an impressive 3-0 decision over Whittier in the first round, Nov. 2, the Red Raiders continued to fire on all cylinders burying West Roxbury in straight sets 25-3, 25-11 and 25-12, to complete the sweep.

Lombardo led the attack, which culminated in a 19-point swing in the opening match to set the tempo.

“Right now Lydia has been huge for us on the service line," said Celli. “On Senior Night she went 24 straight points. In our matchup tonight she went 14-15 straight points. That sort of gets us going.”

Although they held control for virtually the entire contest, Melrose never lost its focus.

“I thought when the other team brought the ball back we still played well defensively on our side,” Celli said. “We didn’t fall asleep. We didn’t get into a lull when she was serving the ball well, getting ace after ace. We did a good job, but our serving has been really good lately."

Lombardo loomed large in the first match, but it was senior quad-captain Saoirse Connolly that shined in the second set. She registered 12 kills, putting West Roxbury on the ropes.

“Lilly spread it around,” Celli said. “She's so smart, she finds the open people. We have a lot of good hitters right now so that’s a huge thing for us.”

Some of the team’s young guns also helped put the match away in the third and deciding set. Sophomore Claire Albuja showed plenty of poise with several service points, with freshman Caroline Kiernan also connecting on a couple as well.

“It helped to get a lot of kids in where maybe they wouldn’t depending on the situation," Celli said. “It was a good match for them to get in there and get some tournament experience. That will help them moving forward, if not this year next year.”

The Red Raiders will now prep for another rematch with Arlington Catholic (18-4). The sixth-seeded Cougars previously defeated North Reading (3-1) and a heady Hamilton-Wenham squad, 3-1, Nov 6.

Celli likes his team's chances.

“I always like our chances,” Celli said, “If we play to our capabilities we can beat anybody, but if the other team happens to catch us if we’re not working as hard as we can, I don’t know. I just feel like we can play with anybody. I’m looking forward to Wednesday night.”